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Chapter 2
Shaz dropped Olivia gently on the sofa once they got in and smiled as she went over to Chris.
"So, what am I cooking?" she asked with a smile.
"Heya, ummmm, well, I found some of the meatballs you made last time in the freezer and some spaghetti," he said hopefully. "I put the water on to boil and the meatballs are defrosted," he added then flashed her a crooked grin before going into the front room and scooping up his daughter.
"How's my girl?" he asked her and gave her a squeeze before sitting on the couch to cuddle Olivia. "Shall we watch some tele while she cooks our tea?" he asked and began to channel surf when she nodded.
Shaz smiled at the sight of Chris and Olivia all cuddled up together and then looked at the hob. She smiled and sighed simultaneously as she set about fixing them all something to eat.
Shaz set the plates out on the table and looked back over at Chris and Olivia. She moved over to the sofa and tapped the pair of them on their heads. "Come on, tea's ready," she smiled as she reached down and picked Olivia out of Chris' arms.
"Now, juice?" she asked as she went over to the fridge and opened it up. She held Olivia as the girl looking the fridge and smiled once she pointed.
"Apple? You sure?" she asked and Olivia nodded. Shaz smiled. "Okay, then," she said as she settled Olivia in the high chair and poured her a glass. "There," she said and reached over to grab a couple of beers from the fridge. She passed one to Chris and tipped hers into a glass of lemonade as she sat down.
"Hurray," Chris said and got Olivia to clap with him before Shaz picked the girl up.
He sat down and looked greedily at the plate.
"Ta, love," he said as he took the beer from her and cracked it open.
"So, did you meet the new PC?" he asked her.
Shaz shook her head. "I didn't meet her but I spotted her heading out on the beat," she said before beginning to eat.
"Lucy Beale right?" she asked. "You meet her?" she added as she looked up at him, glancing over briefly to see how Olivia was coping with the spaghetti.
Chris shook his head.
"Not really. She's training with Williams, though and I think I heard the Guv saying something about her working with Alex a bit, you know with all that stuff Alex does," he shrugged.
Shaz nodded. "I heard something about that, too," she smiled. "It'll be good for Alex to have someone to pass on all her stuff to, I think she'll love it," she said as she looked back at Olivia to make sure she wasn't getting too much food down her.
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Ray held their hands as he took them into the take out and sat them on one of the plastic chairs as he went up to the counter.
"Pizza not be cold," Claire reminded her father as she stood on the plastic chair and began to bounce on her heels. Denis looked at her and muttered something only she could hear. She frowned at him, but meekly sat and began to swing her legs, trying to tap her father's leg with her feet.
Ray looked around at Claire and smiled at the cheeky look on her face and the calm look on Denis'. He grinned at the pair of them and lifted his leg to gently tap Claire's feet back while he was waiting for the pizza.
Claire giggled and shot Denis a smug look.
Ray grabbed up the pizzas with a grin and took the twins back to the car.
"Right," he said as he climbed back in after making sure they had their seatbelts on. "We have pizza so your Mam isn't going to kill me, how about some music on the way back?" he asked as he grabbed a load of CD's and skimmed through them.
"Which one d'you fancy?" he asked as he looked into the back of the car at the pair of them.
"You sing," Claire insisted and Denis nodded.
"Please," he said.
Ray looked at them and put the CD's back down. He smiled at them and searched in his head for a song. He picked a nursery rhyme and turned back to the road, singing the rhyme as he drove back to the flat.
Claire sighed at her father's choice of song and looked at Denis.
"Dontcha know any good songs?" Claire couldn't help but ask. "We're not babies," she huffed.
Ray chuckled lightly and glanced over the seat at them behind him as they reached a junction. "Nursery rhymes are not for babies," he frowned at Claire. "I'm not a baby and I still like nursery rhymes," he told her grumpily. "There's nothing wrong with them!" he told her as he turned back to face the road, glancing up at the traffic lights. He drummed his hand on the steering wheel and sighed heavily.
"What would you like me to sing then if you're suddenly too good for nursery rhymes?" he asked them.
"We were listesening t' 'Friday' in nursery, thass a good one," Claire replied tartly. "Is like this," she said and began to dance in her seat as she started to sing the song. Denis grinned and began to clap along and bob his head.
Ray's eyes widened at Claire's choice of song and his hand flew to the radio, he was not going to be listening to that 'song'. Shaz had gone through a stage at work of singing it and he was sick of it, he'd never been more glad to have a separate office to the others, though he had still been able to hear her singing it out.
Ray made sure that the radio was drowning out Claire's singing and wished that she had better taste in music.
Claire frowned as her father turned the radio up loud. She stopped singing and glanced over at Denis before sighing and looking at her feet.
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Rowan hurriedly got the kitchen tidied up and then went to look at the schedule for the weekend so she could text Shaz a time.
"I will be done by 6:30 on Friday, so can be there by 7:30," she finally texted and then went to get paper plates from the cupboard, glad it hadn't taken a couple hours to get back to Shaz with a time.
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Jack quickly put the finishing touches on the dinner and made sure the table looked just so. He wasn't bribing her into keeping the baby, he told himself, but she did deserve a bit of pampering. He had to make sure she knew he supported her, no matter what.
He checked the clock and quickly lit the candles and then waited impatiently next to the table for her to get home.
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Ray grabbed up the pizzas and helped the twins out of the car and ushered them into the Restaurant and up the stairs in front of him. He opened the door for them and made sure they sat down to take their shoes off as he took the pizzas to the kitchen and put them on the table. He smiled at Rowan.
"Pizza, hot, as ordered," he said and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sorry I forgot them the first time, Ro," he apologised to her.
"I should hope so," Rowan said in a mock huff and then gestured the twins to go wash their hands.
Rowan opened the boxes and put slices of pizza on the twins' plates. Denis would only eat pepperoni and Claire would eat whatever kind of pizza her father had. She put a pitcher of iced tea on the table, making sure to fill the twins' cups for them and then handed Ray a beer.
"So, we'll be going to Shaz' at around 7:30 on Friday," she told him as she dropped onto her chair and picked up a slice of pepperoni and began to pick the pepperoni off and eat it a piece at a time.
Denis and Claire clamored back to the table and climbed into their seats to start on their food. Rowan had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Denis started trying to eat his pizza as fast as he could and Claire began to pick off the topping and each piece one at a time. She glanced at Ray and then back at her plate.
Ray watched the twins begin to eat curiously. He chuckled lightly and shook his head as he looked back at Rowan and nodded. "Sure," he nodded. "I'll drop you guys off and grab Chris and we'll go down the pub for a bit," he told her as he ate down his pizza, he sighed at the sight of Denis wolfing down his food as if it was going to be snatched away from him.
"Denis, mate, slow down," he smiled at him. "You're gonna choke," he chuckled.
Denis turned his big blue eyes on his father and let the pizza fall to the plate. "I fine," he argued. "Not choke."
He picked up his glass of juice and took a drink.
Rowan bit back a laugh. "Where have I heard that phrase before?" she mocked at Ray and gave him a look. Like father, like son.
Ray raised his eyebrows at Denis and smiled slightly at his son before looking over at Rowan. He frowned at her.
"I have no idea," he said with a small wink.
"I singded for Dada in the car," Claire piped up, "but he turn on the radio way loud," she added and went back to picking the toppings off her pizza.
Rowan looked at Ray and shook her head with a sigh. "I'm sure your singing was lovely, sweetie," Rowan told her. "What did you sing?"
"Friday," Claire told her.
"Ah," Rowan nodded and rolled her lips under her teeth to keep from laughing, though it was still no excuse. She was sure Claire couldn't be nearly as bad a singer as she herself was.
"Claire sings pretty," Denis informed them and went back to his pizza.
"I did say, I'm sure you do," Rowan assured her. "Daddy just doesn't like that song."
Ray grumbled under his breath as Claire started talking about singing in the car, he looked up at Rowan and saw the laughter written all over her face. He picked another slice of pizza and took a large bite of it, that song was horrible and he hated it.
"So," he said, changing the subject "What happened at Nursery today?" he asked the twins as he looked over at them.
"We had paints and got stories and music," Claire replied.
Rowan gestured at the fridge where she'd hung their drawings, except the one Denis had made Olivia that had gone with Shaz.
Ray smiled at them as he glanced over at the fridge. He looked back at his children and smiled broadly at them.
"Those are the best looking drawing's that I've ever seen," he told them with an honest smile.
"You both had fun then?" he asked them as he finished his pizza and pushed his plate away and picked up his beer.
The twins nodded and beamed before finishing their food.
Rowan got up when the twins finished eating and made sure their hands and faces were clean before letting them go play. She gathered up the paper plates, tossed them in the bin and then sighed as she turned to lean back against the counter. She folded her arms and looked at Ray.
"I've been thinking," she began. "That we do something about the attic. That bedroom is really a bit too small for the twins. I'd have to look again, but I think there's enough space up there to make two bedrooms," she said as she made a gesture over her head with her hand. "And this way your mother won't feel guilty taking the twins' room when she comes to visit. Not that they mind the whole 'camping in the front room experience.'"
Ray rested his elbows on the table and nodded at her. "Sure, I'll look into building contractors, get a quote," he said agreeably as he drained the beer from the can. He studied her as he put the can back down on the table and then took her hand and pulled her to sit on his lap, his arm wrapped gently around her middle.
She let him pull her onto his lap and put her arms around his neck and then sighed at his question.
"Why do we need builders?" Rowan wanted to know. "It's sound enough up there. We just need to put up say...one wall really," she said.
Ray nodded. "I know that Ro, but I'd prefer a builder to take a look first and make sure the whole thing isn't going to fall down when we start tampering with it," he said to her with a small shrug.
"Ro," he said softly. "Are you still sure about what you said before," he asked her, hope colouring his tone. "About marriage?" he asked.
"Ray, why? I don't need some piece of paper showing how I feel about you..." she broke off and looked at him. "I know I don't talk about things much," she began hesitantly, "but if you need a ceremony, then what if we handfast? It's like a wedding," she suggested. She didn't really talk about her beliefs much with Ray. He seemed to accept what he did know and didn't seem to worry overmuch about it.
Ray sighed heavily at her words, but his interest piqued slightly, he tilted his head as he looked at her.
"What's Handfasting?" he asked curiously.
Rowan shrugged. "Okay. Shame JT's not here, he could do it."
Rowan closed her eyes at Ray's heavy sigh and was relieved when he asked about handfasting. She explained it to him. Would it be enough for him?
"There's only one thing, I don't know anyone here who can do it," she told Ray. "But acuisle, you have to understand, not wanting to get married has nothing to do with you. I just...I just can't do it again. It doesn't mean I don't love you or that I'm not committed to you, because I am. You and the twins are my life, Ray. I've never, ever met anyone who makes me feel the way you do."
She stood up and then sat back down so that she was straddling his lap. She wound her arms back around his neck and rested her gaze on his.
"I don't need you to marry me to prove you love me. I see it every time you look at me, feel it every time you touch me," she told him softly and put a hand on his cheek. "It's all I need."
She pulled his face close to hers and kissed him softly.
"Ewwwwwwwww!" the twins chimed together. "Don wanna biscuit now," said Claire, but Denis frowned. "I do."
Rowan broke off the kiss and put her forehead against Ray's and chuckled.
"Apparently it's biscuit time," she muttered and got off Ray's lap and got the biscuit jar out of the cupboard and let each twin have two.
"Don't get chocolate everywhere," she cautioned as they ran back to their room. She carried the jar over to Ray and held it out to him.
Ray sighed as the twins brought him off his cloud and looked down at them. He chuckled at the pair of them and pulled a face before they ran off.
Ray looked up and shook his head as Rowan offered the biscuits to him. "No, thanks," he said quietly.
He had a lot to think about now, she wouldn't marry him: she would handfast with him? He was going to have to think this through. He didn't see why they could do both if she wanted to handfast. They could get married and handfast if that's what she wanted; but she wouldn't marry him.
At first he had believed that she wouldn't marry him because she didn't love him enough to be tied to him for the rest of her life: now he understood differently. He was trying to accept it, struggling, but trying nonetheless. Handfasting? It sounded a little similar. He'd have to think this through.
Rowan's eyebrows went up in surprise at Ray refusing biscuits. She set the jar gently on the table and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked him softly. He was acting so strange lately; she just couldn't figure him out. Obsessing over this whole marriage thing. A far cry from how long it had taken him to say he loved her and waffled about moving in together. She watched him steadily for a few minutes, trying to work out what he was thinking.
"Hmmmm?" Ray hummed back as he pulled his gaze back to her face, he smiled at her and nodded. "Fine," he said softly to her. "I'm fine," he added as he reached up and took her hand from his shoulder and pressed a kiss to it.
He glanced over at the twins' bedroom and then over at the TV, he chuckled and tugged on her hand. "C'mon," he told her as he let go of her and went to stretch out in front of the tele, he took his can with him as he settled himself and grabbed at the remote.
Rowan nodded and went with him and curled up next to him on the couch, keeping an eye on the time. It would be bedtime for the twins soon.
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Alyssa toyed with her phone as she walked home. The surgery wasn't far, and she knew that she could get herself sorted there. She bit her lip as she neared the house and sighed as she pulled her keys out and opened the door.
"Jack?" she called out as she dumped her stuff next to the sideboard and ran her hands through her hair wearily. She really wanted to curl up in bed with him. She sighed as she shut the door with her foot and ran her hand over her belly once more. She pushed the thoughts away firmly, she didn't want to think about it constantly though it was difficult to block out.
She glanced in the front room and then made her way into the kitchen, a small frown creased her brow as she took in the scene and she rested her gaze on him "Jack?" she asked curiosity.
Jack's mouth curved into a smile and he walked over and put his arm around Alyssa's shoulders.
"I thought you deserved a bit of a treat," he told her and pulled her chair out for her to sit. He poured her a glass of wine and then began to dish up the food. He bent over and kissed her cheek. "Because I love you," he whispered.
Alyssa took the seat and looked up at him, her surprise evident as she took the glass of wine and watched him dish up the food. "Treat..." she repeated. She took a larger sip of the wine and smiled at him with a small sigh.
"Thank you," she said softly as he put the plates on the table. "I love you, too," she added.
Jack ate silently for a few minutes and then looked at Alyssa.
"So, let me know what you decide. I'll go with you if you want me to, like I said. I'm here for you, Lyss, whatever you decide."
Alyssa looked up from her food to gaze at him as he spoke. She nodded slowly at him as she pushed her food around her plate. "I know," she said softly.
"I think I'm going to call the surgery tomorrow and make an appointment with Doctor Bond," she said to him as she dropped her gaze back to her plate for a moment and then looked back up at him.
Jack nodded and reached across the table for her hand and squeezed it. He had had the tiniest spark of hope she might change her mind. But he would make sure she never knew.
Alyssa smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. She couldn't help but feel relieved that he didn't seem to mind that she wanted to get rid of it. She had worried a lot about that once she found out that she was pregnant, sure he knew she didn't want kids but they'd never actually been in a position where she could have them. She felt herself relax in her seat and finished off her food. She let go of his hand and picked up her glass of wine and sipped it slowly as she watched him eat.
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Whitney made her way back to the bar and got herself another drink. She saw Molly and Lucy seemed to be talking and not fighting and took a quick gulp of her drink before grabbing Lauren's arm and dragging her onto the dance floor.
"Alright?" Whitney said over the music.
Lauren shook her head and leaned over to Whitney. "Have you noticed none of us seem to be getting married?" she asked and Whitney frowned.
"Peter and Molly…." she began.
"Have been engaged for ages and still haven't named a day," Lauren finished for her. "Those two don't plan on getting married anytime soon and you and I are still single."
"Fats and Mercy," Whitney shot back.
"That was sort of necessary," Lauren reminded.
"Point," Whitney conceded and thought about it. Lauren did seem right. Whitney didn't mind being single. She'd not even dated since breaking up with Brett over two years ago. She had wanted to focus on her school and her career, men just complicated things when she needed them to be simple.
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Molly's eyes widened. Criminal Psychology? That's what her Mum did. No doubt Lucy would be her Mum's protege or something then. Molly couldn't help the frown that covered her face, she wasn't sure what she thought of Lucy Beale. The first time they'd met Lucy had been a right bitch and Molly had hated her, she'd now gone all those years feeling the same way about her, and now here she was in front her being as pleasant as you like. Molly was confused but went along with it regardless.
She smiled softly as Lucy dashed away towards Lauren and Whitney and shook her head slightly, as she grabbed her glass again and sipped her drink.
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Whitney caught her breath as the song finished and headed for the bar to get a drink. She glanced over at her friends dancing. It was weird to see Lucy back. She thought they might get along better now. She drained her glass of water and threaded her way back through the people to her friends.
"So, there's this fashion do in a couple weeks, any chance you could do me a favor?" Whitney asked Lauren and Molly between songs. "I need a couple of female models."
Molly looked up at Whitney and nodded eagerly. "Sure, whatever you need," she smiled.
"Me too, I'll help," Lauren agreed and grinned at Molly.
"Great, now I just need to find a good male one and I'm set. Is Saturday good so I can get you all pinned up in fabric?"
Molly nodded. "Saturday's fine," she smiled back. "Do we get to know what this is for?" she asked curiously.
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Bolton leant against the bar and sipped his drink as he looked around him. The last time he had been in this club was for the school disco that Jack Rimmer had invited them to while they were in London. This was the place where he had met Whitney. He sighed, he hadn't seen her since the glimpse he had got of her getting into a taxi earlier, he certainly hadn't seen her around Walford.
Bolton downed the rest of his drink and looked around again, he frowned slightly, he was pretty sure that that girl over there was Whitney's mate, Molly. He smiled, surely she would know where to find Whitney. He leant off the bar and made his way over. Bolton frowned at the dark-haired girl talking to Molly and smiled broadly as her head turned and he caught a glimpse of her face. Whitney. He went over and rested his arm jokily on her shoulder and pretended to use her as an arm rest.
"So, long time, no see," he grinned down at her.
"Yeah, remember I told you about that show thing I was trying to get into? Well, I got in. So, I just need some mates to model the outfits I'm making for it and I'm sorted. This could really do things for the shop," she told them.
"Maybe you can help me pick out the music, too," she offered.
Molly nodded eagerly. "Sure, Whit," she agreed excitedly. "Whatever you need!"
Whitney broke off and her eyes widened. She turned her head and looked.
"Bolton?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
She couldn't believe it was him. She still regretted that he'd never got back in touch with her all those years ago after the party. She really thought he'd liked her.
She cleared her throat and glanced at Molly and Lauren.
"So, how are you?" she asked.
Bolton smiled down at her. "Good, ta," he grinned. "Just moved into the area, got myself a job and I need someone to show me round, so I thought who do I know that lives round here," he grinned down at her. "And guess what?" he smiled. "I find you here in this very same club where we were the last time I was here," he chuckled and looked at the other two girls.
"Molly," he nodded at her.
Molly smiled back and subtly tugged on Lauren's arm to get her to move away with her, she figured that Whit wouldn't want an audience while she spoke to Bolton.
"You live here now?" she gasped in surprise. "How did that happen?"
She barely noticed Molly dragging Lauren away. She hated being so fascinated by Bolton; she'd tried so hard to forget him! But she found herself drawn to him all over again, all her doubts shoved to the back of her mind by his smile.
Bolton shrugged. "I went to Uni, sorted myself out with some qualifications and ended up here," he told her with a small smile.
"What about you? Why're you still round here?" he asked her curiously.
"Still, that's pretty weird, moving all the way here from Manchester," she remarked.
She smiled and shrugged. "Well, I went to school myself, fashion design, I've got my own shop now over off the High Street. No more stall for me."
Bolton shook his head. "Nah, there's more going on in London, " he told her.
He grinned broadly at her. "Wow Whit! That's fantastic!" he told her and squeezed her shoulder gently. "How's that going for you?" he asked curiously.
"It's going good, yeah," Whitney told him with a smile. Whitney's brow furrowed.
She glanced down at her feet and then back up at Bolton.
"It's um...it's good to see you," she said. "So, where is it you're working?"
Bolton smiled at her and flicked his head. "You know that boxing place?" he asked. "I'm working as a trainer there," he smiled. "I'm hoping to get some DJ-ing going too, that didn't really happen for me up in Manchester, so I figured London would work better."
"You're working for Phil Mitchell? You want to watch out for him. He's a very unpleasant sort of person. Don't let him get you involved in anything illegal," Whitney warned him.
Bolton shrugged. "I'll be fine Whit, don't worry about me," he smiled at her. "I have no intentions of doing anything that I don't want to."
"Yeah, well, Phil Mitchell is no one to mess with," she told him. "So, be careful."
Bolton looked at her and nodded slowly. "Will be," he assured her.
"But..." Lauren began to protest as Molly dragged her away. She finally went willingly and looked at Molly as they went back to the bar. "Shouldn't we stay there, though?" she asked before ordering herself a drink. "I remember she was pretty gutted when he never really got back in touch with her after the party."
She glanced over at Whitney and Bolton, Whit already seemed gone on him again, then glanced over at Lucy who was dancing with Fatboy and Mercy.
"So, Lucy a cop, pretty weird, huh? I never would have predicted it. Wonder what her dad thinks."
Molly glanced over her shoulder to glance at Whitney; she didn't seem to have noticed that they'd left her alone with Bolton. She looked back at Lauren and shrugged. "I doubt she wants us hanging around while she talks to him, and I reckon us there would just make it a bit more awkward," she said.
Molly couldn't help the scowl that crossed her face as Lauren brought Ian into the conversation, she couldn't stand Peter's father. He was a self-absorbed, greedy, uncaring bastard. She couldn't understand how he had so little compassion, how he could just chuck his own son out of his home without so much as a thank you for looking after the businesses for him while he'd been gone all that time. She was still sore about it. So far her experiences with Peter's family had been less than pleasant.
"I doubt Lucy cares what Ian thinks of her," she said with another shrug. "If she's got any sense then she won't anyway," she added darkly and shook her head before taking a calming breath and looking back at Lauren apologetically. "Sorry, I just really cannot stand Ian Beale!" she mumbled.
"You're not the only one, Molls, I'm not sure I can name anyone who's happy Ian has come back. Except maybe Phil Mitchell and that's only because he brought Ben back with him."
She took a long drink of her wine and shook her head. "I doubt Lucy cares what her father thinks. She didn't before, why start now?" she added with a chuckle.
Molly smiled back. "Exactly," she said with a quick glance over at Peter.
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Lucy yawned and looked at the time.
"I'm off. Have to get up early and be all lawful and whatnot," she said. She walked over to Lauren and Molly.
"I better get going now. I'm early in at work tomorrow," she told them.
Molly smiled at Lucy. "See you round," she said with a small wave.
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Gene looked down at Sammy as the boy fell asleep and sighed. He needed to figure something out to help him. He couldn't stand the idea of his son being bullied.
He walked back into the front room. "I'm for bed. Lots of early meetings on tomorrow," he said to Alex.
Alex looked up at him and nodded silently. She knew this whole bullying thing with Sam was really getting to Gene; he was supposedly macho and tough, she presumed that he thought Sammy would be that way too. He was more upset than he was going to let on.
She set her glass down as she listened to him rustling around in the bedroom and made sure the TV volume was down low so it wouldn't disturb Gene or Sammy. Alex pulled her legs up to her chest on the sofa as she gazed at the screen without really seeing what was on it. She sighed heavily as she rested her chin on her knees.
Molly had had a chat with Sammy about the bullies, she'd spoken to Sammy about it, she wasn't sure about Gene but he wasn't usually the talking kind.
Alex looked reproachfully at the wine glass as she unfolded herself and dumped the remaining wine into the sink. She dumped the glass in the sink and went to peep into Sam's room. His sleepy breathing made her sigh once more as she trailed to her room and crawled into bed next to Gene.
Whitney glanced over and saw Lucy leaving and looked at her watch. It was getting late. She looked at Bolton.
"It's getting late, I should get home," she said.
Bolton raised his eyebrow as he grabbed out his phone and looked at the time too. He drained his drink and looked at her.
"Want an escort?" he offered with a wink.
Whitney paused a moment and then finally nodded.
"Okay, you can walk me home," she replied flippantly and walked out of the club with him, barely giving Lauren a backward glance.
She pointed things out as they walked across the Square and headed in the direction of the High Street and otherwise made small talk.
"Well, that's me," she said and pointed out the shop. She led him to the door next to the shop door that led up to the flat.
"Thanks for walking me home," she said as she pulled her keys from her bag.
Bolton leant against the door-frame as he watched her dig for her keys.
"S'alright," he said. "Though I did have an ulterior motive," he admitted and then grinned. "It was the easiest way to find out where you lived," he said to her as he leant off the door and looked at the shop window. "Nice," he said thoughtfully as he looked it over.
Whitney pulled her keys out of her bag and smiled. "Thanks, I like it," she told him and then poked his arm.
"And so why would you want to know where I live?" she flirted.
Bolton raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged. "It's nice to know where I'm going when I come to pick you up," he told her with a grin.
"And why on earth would you be picking me up?" Whitney fired back tartly and waited with an expectant smile on her face.
"Well, you never know, I may ask you out," he shrugged nonchalantly as he smiled at her. "But of course, that's provided you agree," he half-asked.
"Ask me out? Really?" she said in mock-surprise. "Should I agree, hmmmm," she mused. "Not sure, I'd have to think about it," she said and tilted her head at him, a half-smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I suppose if you want to call me and ask me out sometime, I would certainly give such a request a great deal of consideration," she told him. "But now, I have to get some sleep so I can work tomorrow."
Bolton smiled up at her and nodded. "I can live with that," he said back.
"So, before you go and get some sleep, I don't suppose I could get a hug?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, all right," she said and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder. He was a lot more muscular than before, she noticed. She gave him a quick squeeze and then let him go.
"Good night," she said and turned and unlocked the door.
Rowan went back into the kitchen after making sure the twins were all tucked in. She walked up behind him and draped her arms over his shoulders and put her lips close to his ear.
"So, the twins are in bed, what do you say we head in that direction, too?" she asked and tugged his earlobe with her lips and pressed a kiss to his neck.
Ray twisted and looked at her with a small grin.
"Go on, then," he smirked at her.
He nodded as he lifted himself out of his seat and grabbed her hand as he led her to their room and shut the door behind them.
/\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\
Lauren watched Whitney leave with Bolton and looked at Molly.
"Well, I wonder what's going to happen there," she remarked. In the almost year they'd shared the flat, neither one of them had ever brought a bloke back. "Wonder if I dare go home," she said in a jokey tone and made a face.
Molly laughed. "Just cover your ears and yell out that you're home as you go to your room, then plug yourself into your MP3 player," she suggested with a giggle.
Lauren shoved Molly's arm as she laughed at her suggestion.
"All the same, I think I'll wait a bit to go home, just in case," she giggled and got herself another drink.
/\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\
Rowan shoved her head back into the pillow and dug her fingers into Ray's shoulders as he pushed her closer to the edge. They barely managed once a week now, but the intensity of it when they did…
"Oh, Ray," she gasped out and moaned.
A shriek of "Mama!" from across the room made her eyes widen and she turned her head in time to see Denis launch himself at the bed and immediately begin pummeling at his father. Rowan pushed Ray aside, glad she still had her shirt on and grabbed Denis from Ray's back. Denis thrashed out, trying to kick at Ray and she quickly turned and wrapped him in her arms.
"Denis, no, stop," she told him as he kept flailing in her grasp.
"He hurting you," Denis wailed.
"No, he's not, I'm fine, I'm okay," she attempted to soothe. "We were just playing, wrestling, it's okay, look at me, look at me," she insisted and made Denis look her in the face. "See, I'm not hurt."
Denis sniffed and looked at her, not quite believing her and then flung himself against her.
"Shhhh," she soothed and patted his back, not noticing the glare Denis directed at his father over her shoulder.
"Daddy loves me, Denis, he wouldn't hurt me, ever," she told him.
"You sounded like you were hurting," he insisted.
"I'm not hurt," she repeated softly. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed," she told him and carefully got out of the bed, making sure the shirt was covering her and carried the crying boy back to his bed.
"What happen?" Claire demanded to know.
"Dada hurt Mama," Denis told her, his tone still hostile.
Rowan held up her hand. "No, Denis, you listen to me. He was not hurting me," she told him firmly. "Understand?"
Denis looked at her a moment and then finally and reluctantly nodded.
"Good boy," she said and kissed his cheek before tucking him back into bed. She did the same with Claire and then went back to the bedroom.
She closed the door and then looked at Ray.
"Why is it so hard for you to remember to lock the door?" she asked him in exasperation. She climbed back into bed with a sigh and scrubbed at her face with a sigh and then turned her head to look at Ray.
"I hope he didn't hurt you," she said. "He can hit pretty hard."
Ray watched Rowan take Denis away and rubbed at his arm where he had been punched as he flopped back onto the pillows. Bloody kids. He groaned aloud as he closed his eyes and listened to Denis' voice exclaimed that Ray had hurt Rowan. He sighed heavily as she came back and sat up in mock outrage.
"I get caught up in the moment," he protested.
Ray waited for her to get into bed then pulled her against him and brushed a kiss across her forehead.
"I'm fine, takes more than a few punches from a 3 year old to do me damage," he assured her. "But you can feel free to check me over for any bruises or hurty bits if it would put your mind to rest," he added with a slow grin.
"It was hardly that much of a moment," she snorted at him.
"It was a moment wasn't it," he snorted back.
She shook her head as she smiled indulgently at him. "You are insatiable," she said in mock disgust and lifted the covers and peered at him.
"You don't seem unduly injured, at least, the important bits still seem to be in working order," she observed and pressed close and slung her leg over his and smiled. "I think you better finish what you started. And yes, I locked the door," she told him and kissed him.
Ray slid his hands into her hair and then moved an arm around her to pull her closer as he sighed contentedly into the kiss. Ray rolled them so she was on her back again, he raised his head and grinned down at her
"Be quiet, otherwise Denis is going to think I'm hurting you again," he warned.
"He came in because the door was open and he wanted a glass of water. I wasn't being too loud," Rowan told him.
"Unlocked, not open," he mumbled back.
/\\/\/\/\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\\\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\
Alyssa sat in the Surgery, wringing her hands anxiously as she waited as patiently as she could for it to be her turn. She'd called the Surgery and made an appointment for today. She had caught glimpses of Jacks face every now and again, looking a little forlorn since she had told him she had made the appointment. She hadn't told him when it was though. She didn't want him to know when; she didn't want him with her while she did this.
Alyssa looked up sharply as the door opened and a man left scratching his head, her careful gaze was drawn to Doctor Bond as he called his next patient and she blew out a small relieved breath when it wasn't her. Now she was sitting here, on the verge of doing this, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Jack wanted children, no matter what he said she knew that he would like them. She was in a position to give him a child and she was about to get rid of it? How did that make sense?
Alyssa ran a hand over her stomach curiously as her brow creased in thought. She had been so determined to never have children, mainly because of her mother, but Jack didn't seem to think she'd be like that as a mother. He thought that she could do it. He believed in her. She chewed her lip and wrapped her arms around herself protectively, she couldn't do this. She stood, drawing questioning glances from the people around her and stalked towards the door quickly.
Alyssa half-ran home and shut the door with a quick snap behind her as she breathed heavily. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. There was a baby inside her, she couldn't just kill it! She sank to the floor, her back against the door and tipped her head back as she closed her eyes.
Lunchtime? No, she didn't think it was fair to have him distracted during the afternoon. After he finished work then? But could she wait that long. Today was her day off. He didn't get days off, not except bank holidays, summer holidays, weekends and Inset Days. Alyssa sighed as she pulled her legs closer and rested her chin on them. How would he react?
Alyssa pulled herself off the floor and made her way through to the kitchen. A baby. She shook her head slightly, her gaze was caught by a picture of her and Rowan on the mantelpiece in the front room. She needed someone to know, she couldn't tell Jack until he got home, but Rowan she could tell. She had to tell someone before she lost her marbles. She felt like she was going to burst.
Alyssa reached into her pocket and grabbed out her phone.
"You free for a chat today? x"
She snapped her phone shut and left it on the table as she fixed a coffee.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Alex cradled her son to her and stroked his hair soothingly as he cried. She rocked from side to side gently as she let him cry into her shoulder.
"Sammy," she said softly as she eased his head off her shoulder and turned his tear stained face to look at her. "We'll get this sorted sweetheart" she told him and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"Come on, dry your eyes," she said gently as she brushed at his cheeks. Sammy shook his head fiercely and pushed his head back to her shoulder as he clung to her. Alex sighed softly as she started rocking again. She frowned as she heard him mumble something into her shoulder and she pulled back a little
"What was that?" she asked him.
"Daddy," Sammy whispered to her and she nodded silently as she took him in her arms and stood. Alex carried him into the front room and scanned it for Gene. She half-smiled, half-sighed at the sight of him sitting in front of the TV; football. She went and sat down next to him and placed a hand on his arm before carefully lifting Sammy into his lap
"Hey, boy, you're missing the match," Gene said and handed Sammy his scarf. "Guess what I got us tickets to?" he said and pulled them from his pocket as he watched Sammy's eyes light up.
He grinned at Alex and turned his attention back to the screen after tucking the tickets back in his pocket.
Alex smiled as she saw the joy light Sammy's eyes and she smiled gratefully at Gene. She pressed a kiss to Sam's head and then to Gene's cheek as she left them to the match and moved to the kitchen. She stood against the counter and watched Gene and Sam for a moment before turning around to fix them some snacks.
Alex carried over the bowls of crisps, nuts and a glass of juice for Sam and a beer for Gene. She set them on the table and then settled herself on the other end of the sofa with her book. She was determined to finish it.
Gene knew Sammy had been crying again. It made him furious. His son shouldn't have to cry, his son shouldn't be being bullied. Alex didn't seem to be taking care of business, therefore, Gene decided he himself would sort it.
When the match had finished, Gene suggested they go to the park for a kickabout.
"You can come, too, I suppose," he added to Alex as an afterthought.
Alex raised her eyebrows at him. "You suppose..?" she repeated with a smile then looked down at Sam. "You, young man, shoes," she said to him and watched him run off then turned back to Gene with a small smile.
"I'll go find the football, shall I?" she asked him before turning and heading towards the coat cupboard.
"Ta, Alex," Gene said in a magnanimous tone and went to help Sammy with his shoes and then swung his son up on his shoulders. He carried Sammy outside and began walking towards the park. He put the boy down when they reached the park and shoved his hands in his pockets to see if Alex had followed them or not.
Alex heard the door shut and sighed as she dug in the cupboard for the football. She dragged it out and grabbed her book and slipped on her shoes before following them.
Alex smiled as she spotted Gene and Sammy in the park and threw the ball so that it ended up rolling across the grass towards Gene. She took up her book and settled herself against a tree to read and leave them to their game
Gene waved as he noticed Alex arriving at the park. He caught the ball and began to play with Sammy, conspiring with Sammy on occasion to kick the ball in her direction and distract her from her book.
Alex narrowed her eyes at the pair of them as they kicked the ball at her to deliberately wind her up. She finally got fed up with it and grabbed the ball as it sped towards her and put it between her back and the tree.
Sammy ran over, a frown on his face. "Gimme back the ball," he demanded.
Alex raised her eyebrows. "What's the magic word, Sammy?" she asked.
"Please, Mummy!" he said desperately as he tried to wriggle behind her to get the ball back. Alex caught him as she dropped her book and tipped him onto his back on the grass and began to tickle him. Sam shrieked with laughter and tried to push her off.
"Daddy!" he called out between his giggles as his attempts to escape were thwarted every time by Alex "Hel..." Sam gasped. "Help Dadddddyyyy," Sam laughed.
Gene shook his head at Alex's antics and walked over and put his hands in his pockets. He looked down at his wife and son and his eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me, is this lady bothering you, kid?" he asked.
Sam giggled as Alex tickled him relentlessly and looked up at his father helplessly.
"Daddy!" he laughed as he tried, and failed, to catch Alex's hands.
"Help" he shrieked out as he reached towards his father. Alex glanced up at Gene and stuck her tongue out at him as she kept on tickling her son while Sam's screeches for his father kept up.
"I'll take that as a yes, then," Gene said and then reached down and grabbed Alex around her waist and lifted her up and carefully put her against the tree she'd been sitting against. He grabbed her hands and quickly snapped his cuffs on her and looked back at his son.
"I guess I'll just have to arrest this troublemaker for assault," he said and chuckled.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
"C'mon Ray," Rowan called as she helped the twins get their shoes on. "You won't get to eat if you don't hurry," she added and began to herd the twins downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast.
"Morning," Syed greeted them. "Is it Friday Family Breakfast?" he asked and grinned at the twins, who nodded.
Claire walked a bit closer to Syed and put her hands behind her back as she looked up at Syed coyly.
"Will you make my pancakes?" she asked him and batted her eyes at him.
"Claire," Rowan began to scold, but Syed held up his hand as Claire whipped her head around to her mother. "He puts faces on," she whined and Rowan threw up her hands.
"Then say please," she said instead and Claire looked back at Syed with a small smile.
"Please?" she added.
"Yes, I will," Syed told her and patted her on the head. Rowan grabbed Claire's hand and led her out of the kitchen and over to a table. She set the twins down and went to get them juice, tea for Ray and coffee for herself. James had stopped and was saying hello to the twins when Rowan walked back to the table.
"How was your day off?" Rowan asked.
"Good, how are you?" James replied.
"Dada hurt her," Denis said and Rowan gaped at her son.
"Denis, what did I tell you?" she gasped and he frowned and picked up his juice. She looked at James and shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"He walked in," she explained and gave James a look.
"Ahhh," James said and nodded before heading back to finish setting up tables.
Rowan sat down next to Denis. "I have asked you to stop saying that," she told him.
"Thorry," he muttered.
Rowan huffed out a breath and took a drink of her coffee, wishing Denis would keep his mouth shut. He could be worse than Claire sometimes.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Ray hurriedly shoved his feet into his socks and then stuffed them into his shoes. Apparently one little lie in was too much to ask for. He sighed, if it wasn't Rowan insisting he got up for work it was the twins waking him up on his days off to play with them. He muttered sleepily as he grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs.
Ray patted both Denis and Claire on the head as he moved past them and grabbed up his mug of tea. Caffeine. Sounded like a plan to him.
Ray gulped down half of his tea and then leant back in his chair with a sigh. He glanced around the kitchen and nodded at James and Syed. "Mornin," he said as his gaze then flew to Rowan, he glanced at her face then looked over at Denis
Ray sighed, he was still upset over walking in and thinking that Ray was attacking his Mam. It seemed no matter what they said to him he firmly believed that what he had seen had been right.
Rowan took another sip of her coffee and gave Ray a half-smile. Denis would get over it. In the meantime, the whole Square got to laugh behind their hands at them getting walked in on by their kid. The ones who had kids, however, seemed very sympathetic. Jack and Alyssa on the other hand…Rowan sighed. Jack couldn't seem to get over it.
She smiled up at James as he brought over their food and nodded when he asked if she wanted more coffee.
"More tea?" James asked Ray curtly and then went to get the pots. That man didn't really deserve such an amazing woman, James thought. And now it seemed he might be beating her. He admired her putting on a brave face, but she deserved better. James knew he would never hurt her. He loved her. She clearly didn't love that big Neanderthal she'd been with for so long. She hadn't married him, even though they had kids. He refilled their drinks and went back to the kitchen to get more table linen and tried to think how he could begin to woo Rowan away from Ray.
Ray glanced up at James and shook his head. "Not for me, ta" he said as he cradled his mug
Claire squealed in delight at her stack of pancakes. Syed had made a face, as promised. She proudly showed Ray.
Ray glanced at Claire's pancakes with as much enthusiasm as he could muster and smiled down at his daughter. He held back the laughter at her conversation with Denis and glanced over at Syed with a small chuckle.
"Syeeeed looooves me," she told him, "cause he makes me face cakes. I gonna marry him and then I get to have them alla time," she proudly informed her father and then began to pick off the pieces of fruit that made the face.
"I gotta face, too," Denis put in.
"Mine's better," Claire quickly stated and made a face at Denis.
Denis made a noise and began to eat his breakfast. "He won't marry you, he's already married."
Claire made a face back at Denis and threw a grape at him.
Rowan quickly looked away from the twins and took a bite of her eggs to keep from laughing.
"Stop that," she scolded when Claire threw the grape. Claire frowned, but ate the next grape she had planned to throw.
"Don't go getting too messy, Shaz will be here to pick you up for nursery. And you know the rules…." she trailed off with a warning tone.
"Brekkie at home next Friday," the twins chorused.
Ray grabbed his breakfast as it was set in front of him and tucked in immediately. Shaz would be here soon and then he would have to be at work. He was supposed to be in charge today as it was Alex and Gene's day off. Both were on call if something massive happened but he didn't like to bother them. They got little enough time at home together with Sam sine Gene got made DSI. He thought it only fair for them to get some time as a family.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Rowan heard her phone beep and picked it up from where it sat on the table. She read Alyssa's text and her brow furrowed as she wondered what was up.
She quickly sent back. "Lull at 10am, come then x" she sent back and put the phone down and looked at Ray.
"Lyss wants a chat," she told him.
Ray looked up and shrugged. "Dunno," he said. "Could be anything Ro, don't start getting worried about stuff," he told her as he reached over to squeeze her hand.
"I'm not getting worried, I'm just wondering," Rowan corrected. "Maybe they're going to the cottage again and want us to go along."
She gave him a smug look. They'd gone north with Jack and Alyssa many times and Rowan found herself always looking forward to the trips. She wished she and Ray could afford to do the same, but they just couldn't, especially if they were going to do up the attic.
"Don't forget tonight Shaz and I are watching our shows and you're going to the pub with Chris," she reminded him.
Rowan glanced at her watch.
"Okay, let's get you two cleaned up. Shaz will be here any second now," she told the twins and herded them towards the bathroom.
James went over and began to pick up the empty dishes from the table after watching Rowan go past.
Rowan came back with the kids and had them sit back down to wait for Shaz. She got ready to sit back in her chair, and then looked at Ray and chuckled. She picked up his napkin and wiped at some brown sauce next to his mouth.
"You're as bad as the kids," she softly teased him and then kissed him softly.
"Maybe."
Ray shrugged and then caught the look on her face. He grinned back, he had to admit, that place up North where Jack and Lyss took them was pretty special. It had been fairly close to Manchester, too, so whenever they went up they took a detour to Maggie's house so that she could see them and the twins.
"I know that," he told her. "How could I possibly forget!" he added with a grin. "I get rid of you and the terrible twosome for a few hours to spend some time with my best mate, beer, darts, banter," he grinned at her and winked.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
"So, what's on for tonight?" Ginger wanted to know when Chris and Shaz arrived at the station. "Anything good?"
"Rowan and Shaz have their sci fi night so Ray and I are going to pub," Chris replied with a shrug.
"Simon has to go to this boring conference tomorrow, so he's leaving tonight. I need something to do!" he pleaded.
"You can come with us to the pub," Chris offered.
"Yeah, all right," he agreed. He wasn't really enthused about it. All they talked about was football and the fact that now that they had kids they didn't seem to get any. Ginger was pretty sure they were exaggerating about the rarity of the occurrences. Besides, he couldn't join in. As accepting as they were about him, they didn't really want to hear the same kind of talk from him.
"See you at work, love," Chris told her as and planted a swift kiss on her cheek. "You be good for mummy, poppet," he told Olivia and kissed his daughter's nose then headed out.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Lucy walked into the station and got ready for the day to go on rounds with PC Williams. She still hadn't run into her father, but then, she hadn't been trying. He hadn't tracked her down and confronted her so either no one had gleefully informed him of the fact that she was back and what she was doing, or, perhaps, he just wasn't bothered. She found she didn't mind.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Alyssa stopped her nails from tapping against her mug as her phone went off and jolted her out of her reverie. She sighed at Rowan's text.
"K. thanks" she sent back and took a large gulp.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Lucy checked her watch again and sighed and walked over to the Sergeant.
"Is Williams coming in today? I'm supposed to be training with him," she asked.
The man looked at her and then flipped through some papers. "Nope, he's called in sick it seems," he told her. "Why don't you go start on the cells, it was his turn today, and when you get finished, I'll have found someone else for you to go with," he told her. Lucy nodded but grimaced after she'd turned away. Clean the cells. She gave a quick smile and nod to Chris as she passed him in the hall.
"Let me guess, your turn to clean cells?" he asked. She nodded.
"I think they're mostly empty, shouldn't be too bad," he said and flashed her a quick smile.
Well, he seemed nice. She still wished she would have some help. She cleaned as fast as she could and then stowed away the cleaning supplies before tidying herself up and going back.
"Right, you can go out with Sergeant Blake today," the Sergeant told her and she nodded and went off to find him.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Whitney practically floated to the restaurant to get coffees for herself and Jodie. Bolton was here, on the Square! She could still hardly believe it. She was going to have to talk to him about why he hadn't got in touch with her, however. That still stung. She wasn't sure she could think about getting involved with him until she knew.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Shaz waved at Chris and gathered up all of Olivia's things as she balanced her on her hip easily. Shaz scanned the room and felt Olivia tug on her hair.
"What have I forgotten?" she asked and Olivia pointed with a small laugh. Shaz followed Olivia's finger and spotted her dog wedged underneath the coffee table. She put Olivia down on the floor and went to grab the dog.
She turned back to Olivia with the dog in her hand. "How did it get under there?" she asked with an eyebrow raised and Olivia gave her an innocent look. Shaz sighed with a smile as she went and picked her up again.
"Come on, then," she smiled as she gave her the dog and made sure that she had everything once more. Shaz nodded and took Olivia out to the car and strapped her into the car seat before driving away.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Bolton fingered his phone as he got changed ready for his first session. He scrolled down to Whitney's number and his finger hovered over the green button. He smiled as he sent her a text.
"What're you doin for Lunch?"
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Shaz pulled up outside the Restaurant and watched the early risers drift into the Restaurant for breakfast. She grabbed Olivia from the car and took her hand as they walked inside. She smiled as she headed directly for their table picked Olivia up so she wouldn't be in the way. She smiled at Rowan, Ray and the twins.
"Who's ready for Nursery then?" she smiled at them.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
"Get rid?" she gasped, pretending to be offended. She looped her arms around his neck and put her forehead to his. "And you'll no doubt complain about the lack of s-e-x," she teased him in a low tone. "But when you think of that, think of how fantastic it was the other night, despite the interruption," she reminded him, putting her mouth close to his ear. She let out a little giggle and straightened up as she saw Shaz approaching.
The hands of both twins shot up at Shaz' question.
"Looks like it's time for you all to go," she said with a glance at Ray. She picked each twin up and kissed them and then gestured them to take their father's hands so he could lead them to the car. She gave Ray a final quick kiss and waved as they headed out. She sighed and then set about cleaning up the table before heading into the kitchen to get to work. She just had breakfast rush to get through and then Alyssa would be here with her mysterious need to talk.
Ray grunted as she let him go. He never complained, winged, whined and groaned about it, but never complained.
Shaz grinned at Ray and the twins as they came towards her and she waved at Rowan before leading them outside and towards her car. Ray took Denis and Shaz took Claire and they helped them into their car seats before Ray climbed in the front next to Shaz. He looked at her once as she started up the car and then glanced in the back to look at the kids.
"All right, Olivia?" he asked her and she glanced up to nod at him once before going back to bouncing her toy in mid air. Ray frowned and nudged Shaz. "What's she doing?" he asked her quietly, Shaz glanced into the back and smiled at Olivia before turning back to Ray as she pulled away from the curb.
"She's making him walk," she said simply as she joined the traffic.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Whitney paused before picking up her coffees and read off the text. She smiled. So, he was keen then. She winked at Nora who was looking at her with a curious expression and sent a text back.
"I don't know, I'm thinking I'd like to eat lunch," she sent back and then stowed her phone back in her pocket before picking up the coffees and muffins and heading back to the shop. She put the coffees on the counter when she got back and grinned at Jodie.
"I think Bolton's going to ask me to lunch," she said. Jodie stopped from rummaging in the back of muffins to look at Whitney.
"Oooooo, luck," she said and went back to the bag to get her muffin out. "I don't know why you didn't stay with that Brett guy. He was so rich and so fit," Jodie remarked, "not as fit as Darren, of course, but nice."
Whitney shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.
"He was pushy and…I don't know. Bolton's a lot less uptight, I guess," Whitney tried to explain. Jodie made a face and shrugged and began to eat.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Lucy liked going along with Blake. He tended to stay around the High Street and Lucy was able to get a look at Whitney's shop, which she had joking called "The Stall" and admire the window display. It also meant they stopped for a coffee break at the restaurant Rowan owned. Lucy remembered her food from when she worked at the café and wasn't surprised to see the restaurant doing well. She looked around at the bustle of the dining room as she ate a chocolate chip muffin and drank some coffee. It seemed the breakfast rush was winding down. She supposed she should go and try to see her father before maybe going out with her friends tonight. She was sure he would be happy to see her and no doubt plotting how he might make use of a daughter who was on the force. The idea disgusted her.
She drained her coffee and nodded to Blake that she was finished. She smiled and held the door open for a stunning redhead who was coming in as they were leaving and realized after she was halfway to the car that the woman had been the Mr. Rimmer's girlfriend. She'd heard they'd got married. Oh well. She'd never really had a chance. None of the girls had.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Bolton smiled at her text. "Mind if I tag along? You can show me the best places to eat round here?"
He put his phone on the side of the ring and pulled on his gloves. He grinned once at the thought of spending time with Whitney today before starting his warm up.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Alyssa scanned the Restaurant for Rowan and gave a small wave as she sat down at a quiet table set apart from other people that were around. She picked up a menu and read it, once. Twice. Three times before putting it down and looking around her. She watched the crowds of people lessen until there were only a few people still eating and waited patiently for Rowan.
Rowan caught sight of Alyssa and gave her a quick wave. She made sure all was in hand in the kitchen before pulling off her apron and heading over.
"Do you want to go upstairs or is here fine?" she asked before Nora walked over.
"Rowan, there's a delivery for you."
Rowan sighed. "If you want to talk upstairs, go on up, I'll be right behind you," she said and followed Nora back to the counter where a large bouquet of flowers was waiting. Rowan signed for them and looked at the card. She rolled her eyes. "Secret Admirer" indeed.
"Thanks, Nora," she said and looked at them. They were quite lovely, she was willing to admit. No roses. That meant they must be from Ray. He knew she couldn't stand roses.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Whitney put her coffee down and read the text.
"I suppose I don't mind at all. Meet up with me at the shop. There's a great little restaurant I go to the next street over," she sent back and then put her phone down and grinned smugly at Jodie.
"He wants me to join him for lunch," she said.
"Nice," said Jodie. "I'll tell Darren to come and have lunch here then," she said. "You certainly won't want me tagging along."
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Claire watched Olivia play with her dog for few minutes and then looked back up at Shaz and her father.
"I gonna marry Syed," she told Shaz.
"No yer not," Denis argued and Claire stuck her tongue out at him.
"Yes, I am so," she insisted.
"No yer not, stupid," Denis shot back.
"Yer stupid," Claire snapped.
"Not!"
"Are!"
Denis reached over and uncharacteristically smacked Claire's arm. Claire shrieked.
"You hurted me!"
"No."
Claire reached over and hit him back.
"I hate you," she snarled and Denis turned his head away from her.
"Hey!" Ray's voice rang out over the twins as his hand came into the back and separated them from each other.
"Denis, don't hurt your sister or call her names," he said to his son with a frown.
"Claire, don't call Denis names or hit him," he said to her, his tone sharp as he frowned at his children.
"And no fighting in the car at any time, it's dangerous," he said again and looked at all three children, including Olivia in his gaze deliberately: it wouldn't hurt for her to know this for the future. Ray looked at Denis for a moment then turned back to Claire.
"Claire, love, Syed is already married," he said to her gently.
Shaz sat silently in the front as she drove, a smile creasing her face as she listened to Ray talking to his children; it was rare that she ever heard him use a gentle tone of voice but now was one of those times and she was finding it to be very amusing. But she would not laugh, not while he was telling them off.
Denis glared at his father and then deliberately looked away.
Claire huffed at her father's comment, folded her arms and turned her head as she pouted.
Ray sighed as his children turned away from him. He scowled slightly as he turned back into the front of the car and folded his arms grumpily. Bloody kids with their bloody attitudes!
Shaz rolled her lips under her teeth in an attempt to keep herself from laughing; the twins were more like their father than they knew! She pulled up outside the nursery building and climbed out of the car and moved around to open the door next to Denis and then went and opened the door on Olivia's side and unstrapped her from her car seat.
Shaz got Olivia and all of her stuff out of the car and watched as Ray got the twins in order.
Denis folded his arms to keep from holding his father's hand. Claire pouted up at him a moment, then reluctantly took his hand to walk into nursery. Denis gave her a look that said "traitor" and walked next to Shaz instead of with his father.
Claire looped her arms around her father's neck when he went to kiss her goodbye.
"You could tell Syed he has to marry me, right, Daddy?" she whispered in his ear.
Denis was already across the room, chattering softly to Olivia.
Ray unwound Claire's arms from his neck and shook his head.
"No, love, I'm not going to tell Syed to marry you," he told her gently. "Because, Claire, Syed is already married," he told her.
Ray gave her another kiss on her head and patted her hair. "Go on, " he said as he nudged her gently into the midst of the children and headed back towards Shaz who was waiting at the door with a small wave at his children.
Claire huffed out a breath ready to say something else when he nudged her away. She widened her eyes at him and looked up at him from under her lashes and sighed again before blinking slowly and walking away.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Ginger stood in the small kitchen and desultorily made himself a cup of tea. He leaned against the counter as he waited for the kettle to boil and waved at Shaz as he saw her walk past.
"You look cheerful," he noted and managed a smile.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Alyssa watched Rowan dash off and looked around her. It was more comfortable up in the flat and it meant there would be just her and Rowan and no one else listening in. She rose from her seat and caught Rowan's attention as she walked past and silently gestured towards the flat as she climbed the stairs. She pushed open the door with a smile and walked inside, she chose to sit on the sofa and slipped off her shoes before sitting crossed legged against the arm of the sofa.
She hadn't told Rowan she was pregnant, she had figured there was no point since she wasn't planning on keeping it. But now she had found that she couldn't get rid of her baby she supposed she should let Rowan know what was going on. That and she needed to tell somebody before she exploded. She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger then split it into three sections and began to plait it idly.
Rowan turned and headed upstairs with the flowers. She glanced over at Alyssa and quickly stuck them in a vase, she'd sort them out properly later, and then went over and dropped onto the couch.
"So, what's going on?" Rowan wanted to know. "Spill."
Alyssa looked up at Rowan and let her hair drop. She chewed her lip for a moment and sighed. "I'm pregnant, Rowan," she said as she switched her position restlessly and ended up kneeling on Rowan's sofa.
"I've known for a few days now and I told Jack, and we talked it through and he said that he didn't mind if I got rid of it. So this morning I went to the Surgery and I was sitting there Ro, and I just couldn't," she sighed. "I couldn't get rid of it," she said. "I'm scared shitless, I don't want kids but I can't get rid of it and now I'm not so sure that I want to," she said quietly.
"I need to tell Jack, but I can't do it while he's working and I don't want to meet up with him at lunch because then he might not be able to concentrate in the afternoon and I had to tell someone before I burst," she went on hurriedly.
Rowan gaped at Alyssa's announcement. Those were words she never thought she would hear from Alyssa! She quickly moved and wrapped Alyssa in her arms.
"Oh, Lyss! I think it will be amazing," she said into Alyssa's hair, her voice near to tears. She leaned back and looked her sister in the face.
"I know you didn't want kids, but, Lyss, I think you'll be brilliant. Look how great you've been with the twins! They adore you. I don't think you'll be like your mother at all," Rowan said insistently. "Besides, Jack would put you in your place the minute there was even a hint you were being like your mother, so really, I don't think you have any reason to worry."
She suddenly grinned. "I know Jack no doubt supported your decision, but I still bet you make his day with this news. You know, even though you'd changed your mind, you still should have talked to Dr. Bond. You'll need to see a doctor, you know, but I get it, you had to get out of there."
She grabbed Alyssa into a hug again and giggled.
Alyssa wrapped her arms around Rowan and sniffed softly as she hugged her sister.
She pulled away and let go of Rowan. "I really need to tell Jack but I've got to wait until he's done with school," she sighed, feeling restless again. "I don't think I'm going to be able to do it," she said as she wrapped a lock of hair around her finger again.
"How's everything with Claire and Denis?" she suddenly asked, she needed a change of subject to take her mind off Jack and her pregnancy. "How're they doing with Nursery and everything?" she asked curiously.
Rowan chuckled. "Well, if you want to tell him now, tell him now. Be prepared for him to come home early though," Rowan teased. "You certainly won't be ruining his day."
She nodded. "The twins are fine. Claire is convinced she's going to marry Syed and Denis is still having issues about," she cleared her throat, "the other day," she finished with a sigh. "He's as stubborn as his father," she growled and rubbed at her face.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Lucy was finding today much more interesting. She'd helped foil a robbery and catch a mugger. She was feeling far more useful than she did with Williams. She wondered if she could get Sergeant Blake to take her on for her training. Blake was gruff and no-nonsense, but he knew what he was talking about and she was learning a lot more from him than Williams, who seemed far more concerned with other things that weren't necessarily police-related.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Whitney finally finished up the rough outfits for the small show she was going to get to participate in and smiled. Now, she just needed to fit them to her models and find a male model. A slow smile suddenly spread across her face as the fact that she was meeting Bolton for lunch crossed her mind. Perfect. He was very fit and as a bonus, he had DJ skills. She could perhaps get him to sort of DJ while modeling the clothes, she could do a club-type theme.
"Yes!" she blurted out, causing Jodie to nearly drop her coffee. Jodie whirled and looked at Whitney, who was grinning like a loon.
"What are you screaming about?"
"I've had a brilliant idea for my part of the show," Whitney told her. "Of course, it all depends on if I can get Bolton to go along with it."
Jodie smirked. "Well, if he's as keen as you say, that shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
"No indeed," Whitney agreed and hoped things would work out. If it did, she might be able to hire another couple of people to help her sew, which would be useful if she started getting more orders in. Right now, she was working all the hours she could to keep up with the orders she had. She was lucky, however, that Lauren was always willing to pitch in and help sew so she could keep up.
She began going through her paperwork, humming tunelessly under her breath as she did so.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Shaz nodded at him. "Yup, Sci-Fi night tonight with Rowan while Chris and Ray go out," she smiled at him. "You're going with them aren't you?" she asked him.
Ginger rolled his eyes. "Chris invited me, yeah. Si's going to some seminar so I'm at loose ends. I just get so tired of listening to the pair of them," he groaned.
Shaz smiled and patted his shoulder sympathetically. "You could always join me and Ro if you don't mind watching a load of Science Fiction," she said to him with a chuckle. "And if you need an incentive, then there is a very high possibility that we will be watching a lot of John Barrowman."
Ginger looked at her a moment and thought it over.
"I'm yours," he finally said, gratitude written all over his face and turned to pour the water into his mug. He looked back at her. "Tea?"
Shaz smiled at him and leant against the counter. "Please," she smiled as she grabbed down her mug from the shelf and handed it to him.
Ginger quickly fixed a cup for Shaz, too.
"I just can't bear to spend an evening with them on their own in the pub. Their conversation," he said and fanned himself. "I can really do without."
He walked back to the main room with her and dropped into his chair.
"I'm gonna hang with the girls tonight, Chris," Ginger told him.
Chris glanced over, shrugged and nodded. "Be careful, those girls are trouble," he cautioned and grinned at Shaz.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Whitney went over all her paperwork and sighed. She would just break even again this month, only just. She really needed this thing to go well then she could get the small business loan she needed to properly expand.
She was going to have to cut back on going out for awhile, except for today. Lunch had now become a business expense with what she planned to ask Bolton. She glanced over at the clock and smiled. It was almost time. He should be here any minute.
/\\/\/\/\\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\\
Lucy held in a sigh when Blake suggested going to her father's chippy for lunch. She'd really been trying to avoid him since she'd got back. She nodded reluctantly. Might as well get it over with. Blake drove them to the Square and waited patiently for her to get out of the car before heading inside.
The place wasn't busy just yet and she took off her hat and brushed at her fringe before she reached the counter. Ian's look of surprise was something to see.
"Lucy?"
"Hi, Dad," she said, keeping her tone level.
"When did you get back and what are you doing dressed like that?"
"I got back a few days ago," she lied blithely, "and I'm dressed like this because it's my job."
Ian frowned. "Why in the world would you want to be a cop?" he asked in shock, ignoring that Blake was still inside.
"Because I decided I did," she told him.
She watched the run of expressions on his face and sighed when she saw that look that meant he was considering how best to use Lucy's career to his advantage.
"Dad, forget it," she told him and his expression immediately changed.
"Forget what?" he asked, his tone overly innocent.
Lucy shook her head. "Never mind. You know, I'm not hungry," she sighed.
"Luce, don't go," Ian called after her.
"Dad, all you can see is someone you might be able to make use of, not the daughter you haven't seen for almost four years," she told him and slammed out of the chippy. Blake looked back at Ian mildly and then followed her out.
"Don't like your father much, do you?" he asked and Lucy looked up at him and then shook her head.
"Sometimes I do, and sometimes, I see him how everyone else sees him and he makes me a little sick," she confessed.
"I'll go get something at the café," she said and headed away. She smiled at Bianca and ordered herself some lunch and then noticed Jane sitting and reading the paper and went to sit with her.
"Well, I saw Dad," she said without preamble.
Jane looked up at her. "And?"
"He was sort of glad to see me, but I think it was more because of what he thought I might be able to do for him than anything else," she told Jane, who nodded sadly.
"He'll come around, realize he missed you and be happy just to see you," Jane told her.
"Somehow, I doubt it," Lucy said. "Why did he even bother coming back? I heard about what he did to Peter and Molly, I mean, good grief, why does he have to be like that?"
Jane shrugged. "I don't know."
"I hate to say it, but it's probably good you got out," Lucy told her and then bent to her food, leaving Jane looking at her in surprise.